“Release Prisoners Who Have Completed Sentence”: Supreme Court

Supreme Court

The Supreme Court on Tuesday raised serious concerns over prisoners continuing to remain behind bars despite completing their sentences.

In a significant directive, the court ordered all states and union territories to immediately release any such convicts, provided they are not involved in any other pending cases.

Action Triggered By Nitish Katara Case

This directive came during the hearing of a plea by Sukhdev Yadav, also known as Pehalwan, a convict in the 2002 Nitish Katara murder case. A bench comprising Justices B V Nagarathna and K V Viswanathan ruled that Yadav should have been released in March 2025, after serving his 20-year sentence without remission.

“There can’t be any further incarceration of the appellant herein from March 9, 2025, onwards… In fact, on March 10, 2025, the appellant ought to have been released, as he completed his sentence,” the court stated.

Nationwide Compliance Ordered

The court instructed the Supreme Court Registry to circulate its order to the Home Secretaries of all states and union territories. The purpose: to verify whether any other prisoner remains incarcerated beyond the term of their sentence.

“If so, issue directions for release of such convicts if not wanted in any other cases,” the bench ordered.

The court also directed the National Legal Services Authority (NALSA) to communicate the order to state and UT Legal Services Authorities, ensuring District Legal Services Authorities assist in identifying and releasing such individuals.

Background Of The Case

Yadav had approached the top court challenging a November 2024 Delhi High Court decision, which had rejected his request for a 3-week furlough. He had served 2 decades in prison continuously, without any remission. The apex court earlier granted him a 3-month furlough, acknowledging his long, uninterrupted incarceration.

Furlough, the court noted, is a form of temporary release—not a remission or suspension of the sentence—typically granted to well-behaved inmates who have served a substantial portion of their term.

Yadav was convicted alongside Vikas Yadav and Vishal Yadav in the high-profile Nitish Katara case. In 2016, the Supreme Court upheld a 25-year prison sentence without remission for Vikas and Vishal, while Sukhdev received a 20-year term.

The trio was found guilty of kidnapping and murdering Katara on the night of February 16–17, 2002.

Katara, who was allegedly in a relationship with Bharti Yadav—daughter of former UP politician D.P. Yadav—was killed because the Yadav cousins disapproved of the inter-caste relationship.